Grab your HIL ticket from Jan. 23

Ranchi, Jan. 18: Ranchiites can gear up to root for Ranchi Rhinos as they take on Uttar Pradesh Wizards at the second edition of Hockey India League (HIL) in the state capital on January 26.

Ticket sales for the much-awaited tourney, nine matches of which will be held at Morabadi’s Astroturf Hockey Stadium, will start from January 23 across 15 outlets in the state, of which over 10 will be in Ranchi. The tickets will be also available online.

According to CEO of Ranchi Rhinos Bunty Singh, they would increase the prices of tickets by a huge margin this year. However, he did not give the exact prices.

“Ticket prices will be raised by over 70 per cent. However, we will be providing free tickets to underprivileged school students, who will take part in a carnival before the match on January 26. A few hockey players, who are residing in the rural areas of the state, will be also invited to watch the match,” Singh added.

Sourabh Duggar, owner of Ranchi Rhinos, said that they decided to raise the ticket prices because the number of seats at the stadium is less. Besides, they wanted to avoid the mad rush for tickets and keep trouble-makers at bay.

“We are expecting a decent crowd this time after the rise in ticket rates. We are also spreading awareness through various social networking sites,” Duggar said.

Astroturf Hockey Stadium has a total number of 4,500 seats, out of which 150 are for VVIPs, 420 for VIPs and the rest for commoners. According to HIL organisers, adequate arrangements right from food stalls to security have been made.

“There will be tight security. The district administration declared yesterday that around 100-150 security personnel would be deployed at the stadium. Around eight magistrates along with city SP Manoj Ratan Chothe will be in-charge of security under the leadership of Ranchi sub-divisional officer Amit Kumar. We will also take help from private agencies like Group 4 Security and Ranchi Security Agency,” said Suresh Singh, co-ordinator of HIL, Ranchi.

At all six galleries, the food courts will serve a variety of cuisine.